(AUGUSTA, GA) – Paine College will celebrate its 130th Commencement Convocation on Sunday, May 13, 2012 at 9:00 a.m. in the William Bell Auditorium. Dr. Ricardo Azziz, President, Georgia Health Sciences University and CEO, Georgia Health Sciences Health System will be the keynote speaker.

GHSU includes the Medical College of Georgia, the 13th oldest and 6th largest medical school in the nation, the only College of Dental Medicine in Georgia and one of the largest in the country, a College of Nursing training the highest number of graduate degrees in nursing in Georgia, a College of Allied Health Sciences, and a College of Graduate Studies. Having assumed the leadership of the institution July 2010, Dr. Azziz has moved rapidly to integrate the university and its health system, jumpstarting efforts to enhance national recognition and standing of the university and its education, research, and clinical programs, re-energizing philanthropy, and is driving efforts to broaden the university’s reach – statewide and globally. He has heightened the university’s commitment to civic and university engagement, embraced sustainability, and demonstrated a strong commitment to partnership within and beyond the university’s walls.

A recognized clinician, biomedical researcher, and health care executive, Dr. Azziz serves as Professor of Obstetrics, Gynecology, and Medicine at GHSU. He came to GHSU from the Cedars-Sinai Health System and UCLA where he guided the transformation of the department of obstetrics and gynecology at Cedars to a nationally ranked and recognized academic department. Renowned not only for his androgen excess-related research, long-funded by the National Institutes of Health, Dr. Azziz also is recognized for his strong commitment to leadership and faculty development and for helping to make the careers of those around him more meaningful and productive. Previously, Dr. Azziz served on the faculty of the University of Alabama at Birmingham, where he focused on his research and clinical practice – and where he completed an MBA and an MPH.

A native of Uruguay and an accomplished artist, Dr. Azziz brings a global and creative perspective to his leadership of Georgia’s only public academic health center and health sciences university. He and his wife, Cindy, are enjoying life in the south with children Ashlee, Jonathan, and Mallory, and their dog, Arlo.Commencement Convocation – Sunday, May 13, 2012 at 9:00 a.m.William Bell Auditorium, 712 Telfair Street, Augusta, GA

Media covering the Commencement are asked to arrive no later than 8:25 a.m. and to check in at the registration table in the foyer of William Bell Auditorium so that staff may best position you. No one will be admitted into the auditorium once the procession has started. Parking will be available at the William Bell Auditorium. Please present your press credentials with the parking attendant.

For more information on Paine College, please visit: http://www.paine.edu/commencement

Or contact the Office of Communications & Marketing at (706) 396-7591, (706) 821-8322 or Ncarter@paine.edu